Stray bullet from Myanmar hits autorickshaw in Bangladesh
UKHIYA CORRESPONDENT
A stray bullet from Myanmar hit a CNG autorickshaw in motion, shattering its front windshield, on a road at Uttara Para near the Tumbru border in Naikhongchhari, Bandarban.
The incident, which occurred at 2:40 pm on Saturday, 3 February, has raised concerns over border security and civilian safety.
According to reports, the autorickshaw was en route from Balukhali in Cox’s Bazar’s Ukhia to Ghumdhum Union Parishad when it was unexpectedly struck by gunfire after the driver, Abu Taher, had made a stop to purchase betel leaves.
“There is no security for our lives here,” Taher remarked, highlighting the unpredictability of cross-border gunfire. “There’s no guarantee when we might lose our lives due to bullets fired from Myanmar.”
Eyewitnesses suggest the gunfire originated from a Junta force camp along the Tumbru right pillar. The attack commenced around 2:30 pm, lasting approximately an hour, during which at least ten mortar shells were fired, accompanied by over two hundred rounds of gunfire.
Sources indicate the ongoing conflict in Myanmar has led the Arakan Army, an armed rebel group, to take control of nearly all Junta force camps at the Ghumdhum border, leaving only three under Junta control. The Arakan Army’s offensive to capture these remaining camps has escalated tensions in the area.
Locals have voiced concerns that the camps are situated close to the border, with numerous residential areas on this side near the camps. They fear that if gunfire breaks out in the attempt to take control of these camps, it will inevitably affect this side of the border, risking lives – a fear that materialised on Saturday afternoon.
